According to the American Lung Association, every year about four hundred and …show more content…
It is true that marijuana smoke does contain a number of irritants as well as carcinogens, but marijuana smokers tent to smoke less than someone who smokes cigarettes thus over time inhaling less smoke, making the risk of lung damage significantly lower. There have been no reports of lung cancer solely related to marijuana smoke. A large study presented to the American Thoracic Society in 2006 showed that, even in cases of chronic marijuana smokers, there was no increased risk of lung cancer. Unlike heavy tobacco smokers, heavy marijuana smokers do not exhibit obstruction of the lung’s small airway. This indicates that people do not develop emphysema from smoking marijuana. The last common myth associated with smoking marijuana being more harmful for one’s health over smoking tobacco is that marijuana is a gateway drug. The theory that smoking marijuana leads to the use of “harder drugs,” such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, is one that is not proven, or even been tested[1]. In fact, smoking marijuana does not cause people to use “hard drugs.” The gateway theory presents as a casual explanation is the statistic association between common and uncommon drugs, an association that changes over time as different drugs increase and decrease in prevalence. Most marijuana users never use any other illegal drug. Therefore marijuana is a terminus drug rather than a gateway drug and does not cause addiction